JEPHCOTT, Arthur Boobbyer
| Service Number: | 1380 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 January 1915, Liverpool, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 18th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Alcester, Warwickshire, England, 24 July 1890 |
| Home Town: | North Sydney, North Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | St Marys School, Kings School, Warwickshire, England |
| Occupation: | Electrical mechanic |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 4 August 1916, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1380, Liverpool, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1380, 18th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Jun 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1380, 18th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney |
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Arthur Boobbyer JEPHCOTT was born on 24th July 1890 in Alcester, Warwickshire, England
His parents were Edward Arthur JEPHCOTT and Agnes Amelia BOOBBYER
He enlisted on 27th January 1915 with the Australian Army and was in the 18th Battalion, D Company - Unit embarked from Melbourne on the ship Ceramic on 25th June 1915
Arthur was Killed In Action on 4th August, 1916 in Poziers, France - He has no known grave and is listed in the Australian National Memorial in Villers Bretonneux, France and also commemorated on the Australian War Memorial - there is also a family memorial plaque for him at Alcester, Warwickshire
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Arthur Boodyer JEPHCOTT (Service Number 1380) was born on 24th July 1890 in Alcester, Warwickshire, England. His railway employment record card shows his second Christian name as Boodyer, but all his military records show it as Boobbyer. His enlistment papers give his ‘trade or calling as ‘Electrical Mechanic’ and it was in this role that he began work for the NSW Electric Tramways in Sydney on 27th August 1912. In November he relocated to Randwick Workshops. In October 1913 he became permanent. It was from that role that he was released to join the Expeditionary Forces on 21st January 1915.
At the time of his enlistment at Liverpool, he was not married, gave his father still living in Warwickshire as his next of kin, and claimed an apprenticeship of two years with the Enfield Motor Company of Redditch, England.
He left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Ceramic’ on 25th June 1915 and reached Egypt while the Dardanelles Campaign was still underway. He joined the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force with the 18th Battalion on Gallipoli on 16th August. He was wounded there, with a bullet wound to his thigh eleven days later. He was evacuated to Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos. He was then invalided to England and the King George Hospital.
After six months of treatment and convalescence he re-joined the Battalion in Egypt. It was still re-forming after evacuation from Turkey. Almost immediately he joined the British Expeditionary Force. He left Egypt through Alexandria nine days after he had arrived and reached Marseilles (France) on 25th March 1916.
Ye was killed in action on 4 August 1916. A report in his file, unsigned as a copy, gives some details:
‘Private Jephcott was Killed by shellfire in O.G.1. at Pozières. Lieut Leslie (Since K.in A.) of our Battalion subsequently visited his relations, I am told, and gave them what information he could. Jephcott was killed as he entered O.G.1. before it’s (sic) actual capture.
It is very hard to discover whether he was actually buried. Enquiries have several times been made but no reliable information has been forthcoming. It is probable, I fear, that he was not actually buried.’
As was anticipated by this report, no grave was ever identified and Jephcott is remembered on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France.
His mother did enquire about a pension but withdrew the application.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
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